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Not Worth the Weight: Wage Penalties from Overweight and Obesity in the United States, 2002-2008
Working Paper, City University of New York, 2011
Cohort(s):
NLSY79
Publisher:
City University of New YorkKeyword(s):
Obesity; Racial Differences; Wage Differentials; Wages; Weight

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Previous studies have shown both that overweight and obesity lead to lower wages and that low wages cause overweight and obesity. This paper analyzes data from the 2002 to 2008 waves of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth to study the relationship between body composition and wages. Unlike previous studies, this study uses newer measures of body composition – body fat and fat-free mass calculated from bioelectrical impedance analysis data in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Using both Ordinary Least Squares and Instrumental Variables, the paper concludes that there is a statistically significant wage penalty for overweight and obese individuals; a rise in body fat is associated with decreases in the wages of both white males and females. A rise in fat-free mass, however, is associated with increases in the wages of white males and females. The results also hold for black females and to a lesser extent for black males. Inspired by studies that provide evidence that low wages contribute to excess weight, this paper hypothesizes that the negative impact of excess weight on wages (and positive impact of additional fat-free mass) is larger at higher levels of income. A quantile regression analysis provides some evidence that, at least for white females, both the premium associated with fat-free mass and the penalty associated with body fat are larger at higher levels of income.

Bibliography Citation

Lempert, David A. "Not Worth the Weight: Wage Penalties from Overweight and Obesity in the United States, 2002-2008." Working Paper, City University of New York, 2011.